Automobile Racing Club of America

History

John Marcum, who had previously worked as an official for NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., established the Midwest Association for Race Cars (MARC) in 1953 as a regional stock car series. The organization changed its name to the Automobile Racing Club of America in 1964 when it expanded nationally to race on superspeedways. This ARCA is distinct from an earlier organization of the same name founded in 1933, which preceded the Sports Car Club of America.

ARCA began competing at Daytona International Speedway in 1964 during Daytona Speedweeks at the request of Bill France Sr., who had raced against Marcum in the 1940s. The relationship with NASCAR continued, with ARCA events frequently serving as Saturday support races for Sunday NASCAR Cup events. For decades, ARCA used older NASCAR Cup cars; after the introduction of the Car of Tomorrow, teams sold their older cars to ARCA teams. NASCAR acquired ARCA on April 27, 2018.

In 2019, it was announced that the NASCAR K&N Series East and West would move under the ARCA banner as the ARCA Menards Series East and West for 2020. Former NASCAR drivers such as Benny Parsons, Kyle Petty, and Ken Schrader competed in ARCA on their way to NASCAR careers.

Points scoring system

ARCA awards points based on finishing position, with 200 points for first place and five points for 40th place, separated by five-point increments. Drivers finishing behind 40th also receive five points. Qualifying points are given: 15 for pole position, 10 for second, and five for third. Bonus points include five for leading any official lap, an additional five for leading the most laps, 25 for pre-entering and competing, and 100 for competing in each pre-designated five-race leg of the schedule.